R.I.P. Task System Concept!

[The Hinterworlds Rambler]

Task Systems! Bah! This is not Traveller. A Traveller Referee is master of presentation and description, knowing that the workings of the very cosmos cannot be quantified by mere "Easy, Difficult, etc." Tags! A Traveller player KNOWS how difficult it is to fix a jumpdrive with a spoon, or to climb a mountain in a Grav Belt.

I have seen the rantings of the Task System crowd, and I say Bah, do you hear? BaH!

I posit and present to the Moot that the Task System removes a vital aspect of proper Refereeing:

Description! Presentation!

Leaving these to some table... (choke)... forgive me Lords... the idea is most painful to me...

Task Systems encourage bad habits in refereeing, the formost being the reliance on dice and cardboard classification of tasks... brr!

There are many more important things to handle in Traveller besides making or using task systems.

Let's see more involved direct Refereeing, instead of scraping to the tyranny of Dice!

Let's see some new and more sales, then we talk of Task Systems!

More Clarity of Background, less Tables!

I move that it be denied as a vital part of the game, and be regulated to "House Rule" Status. It is a preference thing to go along with (often way over thought) Hit Location Tables! Too long has this soulless aspect of the Game been given way too much attention!

(Collapses as his Squire covers him with his cloak...)

 

[jfetters]

If you rely on anything too much as a crutch, it will be a bad thing. You don't want to roll a task when opening the door to the shuttle, or opening your mail. You use it when key issues need to be resolved - combat, critical repair tasks, etc.

The task system was one of the best things to come along in a while, IMO. Why? Two reasons - Uncertain and Hazardous tasks. Uncertain is great at having an idea of how much the players should know based on their skill levels. Hazardous because there are some tasks that can have dire results if botched (e.g., feild surgery).

It can be overused. Case in point - the DGP Flaming Eye sourcebook. IMO, tasks are WAY overused for too many things. Roll a task to make sure you travel insystem properly? No thanks. But when they are used properly they are invaluable.

 

[The Hinterworlds Rambler]

1 For Moderation!

 

[Maladominus]

Moderation is the key.

Traveller is a role-playing game. It should not become a ROLL-playing game.

 

[mike wightman]

I have a simple task system, that's worked since the days of yore.

Players roll 2d6 after I've told them they need:

to not roll a 2

roll 8+

roll 12+

roll 12+ and we'll talk about it.

They roll the dice, I see how close they've come to succeeding or if they've done really well and then I make stuff up.

If it's vital to the story then the dice roll is just there to make them feel like they are actually influencing the outcome

A task system is just a way of avoiding having to look up every single skill like in the old days - we very quickly adopted the system above.

 

[wordserpent]

I have used something very much like Sigg Oddra's system only not so clearly defined. I like his systematic way of defining the target numbers to throw.

 

[The Hinterworlds Rambler]

But surely you need to boil it down some to express it quickly? The "Make stuff up" part?

Hear Hear, Sigg!

 

[The Hinterworlds Rambler]

3 for Moderation

2 for Annihilation (If I know me Siggs!)


Next Speaker?

 

[JAFARR]

Originally posted by Sigg Oddra:
I have a simple task system, that's worked since the days of yore.

Players roll 2d6 after I've told them they need:

to not roll a 2

roll 8+

roll 12+

roll 12+ and we'll talk about it.

They roll the dice, I see how close they've come to succeeding or if they've done really well and then I make stuff up.

If it's vital to the story then the dice roll is just there to make them feel like they are actually influencing the outcome

A task system is just a way of avoiding having to look up every single skill like in the old days - we very quickly adopted the system above.

Preach it brother! Amen!

 

[The Hinterworlds Rambler]

Aye: 3

Nay: 3

 

[Plankowner]

My first encounter with a Task System was Traveller 2300. I was REPULSED!

A good GM shouldn't need a task system to decide how hard something is to do. Roll a couple of dice, add a skill and play on.

PSHAW on Tasks!

 

[mike wightman]

I never bothered with a task library. I always make up the difficulty to match the situation.

But it is still easier to use the "task system" target numbers above rather than have to look up each individual skill description.

It also means I can switch between a 2d6 and a 2d10 resolution mechanic quite easily (depending on which group of players I have).

 

[Black Globe Generator]

I don't care for the DGP UTP because it devalues skills - for example, Admin in C&C provides a +2 bonus per level in avoiding red tape, but using the UTP means that each skill level only provides a +1 bonus instead.

I'm not fond of writing out task libraries - much too much work for me.

Then there are a couple of skills that rely on a gradient of values to determine the chance of success, such as Bribery, which is based on rolling under law level. It can be done using the UTP, but I find it easier to just to stick with the RAW.

That said, I should point out that I rely heavily on randomness - I rarely have lengthy adventures planned since I prefer to give the players as much autonomy as possible, so I tend to focus heavily on background in order to be able to give the random results cogency and consistency with the setting. I don't really think of myself as "telling a story" so much as describing how the universe responds to the adventurers - the "story" is what comes from that interaction, not something I've scripted in my head in advance in most cases.

 

[jfetters]

I don't like task libraries either - which is why I like the task system. You pretty much determine how hard a task is, what the controlling attribute is and go.

To me it beats trying to figure out statistical models.

Is the task system perfect? No, and I think the little writeup in MTJ4 talks about that pretty well. But to me it works better than most. YMMV and all that...

 

[The Hinterworlds Rambler]

Even the concept of the "task profile" to me is excessive. It is sheer folly to attempt to list them, even in skill categories... It is only trying to catalog every possible action. Again, to what end?

It seems like somebofy REALLY likes tables.

8+ forever!

 

[jfetters]

That's why you don't. You just roll the damn dice.

I never roll for anything that would be considered a "simple" task. Similarly, everything else is just dependent on the situation. You just need to know what the number is. Personally, I am more comforatble with the MT system than TNE, since it was such a major shift. It also meant that I had to know only a couple numbers. No big deal.

 

[robject]

All a task "system" really is, is a standard of value for skill levels. A skill level of X -- regardless of the skill -- means you can succeed in typical tasks (i.e. "Average") Y% of the time.

Otherwise, products may impose a different standard of value for skill levels for the same rule system. That could be bad. (Although, I don't think I saw it in CT.)

Moderation: yes.

 

[Golan2072]

Originally posted by Jim Fetters:
I never roll for anything that would be considered a "simple" task.

Agreed in most cases - a Simple task is worth rolling only if there are complicating factors (such as no skill at all and the skill is a relatively obscure one, or harsh external conditions etc). Don't roll on a routine landing at a starport; roll when landing under fire, in VERY bad weather conditions (think the landing scene in Alien) and/or on bad terrain with a Starport-X. The rule of a thumb is that an event worthy of a scene in a movie/TV series is usually worthy of a task roll; an event which will be skipped (or just shown in a very short shot) in a movie/TV series would rarely warrant a roll.

Use the task system as a skeleton to spin your story around, not the reverse.

 

[The Hinterworlds Rambler]

Good analogy, but I submit that breaking the action to consult or construct a Task profile sort of takes away a bit of the movie magic.

 

[mike wightman]

It's not difficult to remember the target numbers etc.
I even eventually learned the MT penetration rules off by heart

These days though I like to keep everything as simple as possible to keep the story going.